Eisenkot: "Israelis are fed up with promises - we need actions"

The Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, held a conference this Monday to strengthen rural areas and Israeli agriculture, with the participation of dozens of regional council heads, leaders of the Moshav and Kibbutz movements, and public figures.

The conference was opened by the head of the Drom HaSharon Regional Council, Oshrat Gani-Gonen, who addressed the challenges facing rural areas during this period and emphasized the need for significant government backing for agriculture and local authorities.

Following this, Major General (res.) Tal Russo presented the Yashar party's outline for strengthening Israeli agriculture, which positions agriculture as an inseparable part of Israel's national security concept. The outline views the strengthening of agriculture and food security as strategic goals of the highest order.

At the center of the conference, party chairman Gadi Eisenkot presented the party's perception regarding the place of agriculture and rural areas in Israel's national security. According to him, strengthening farmers and rural areas is not just an economic or social goal, but a national interest.

Eisenkot said:

"In my visits to the North, I saw young people, academics, high-tech professionals, and lawyers who returned from Tel Aviv to agriculture and the path of their forefathers. But appreciation in words is not enough - the state must take practical steps. We must reward those who contribute, support the settlers along the borders who work hard, and restore the value to creation and labor."

"Agriculture and food security are a fundamental component of our national security," added Eisenkot. "The rural area is the first line along all the country's borders, and as such, we will treat it. I commit that in a realistic spot on the Yashar list, there will be a representative of the working settlement movement. The Ministry of Agriculture will be headed by someone for whom the values and needs of agriculture and the rural area will lead every decision of theirs."

"Israelis are fed up with high-flown talk and promises. We need actions: long-term planning, support for agriculture, encouraging innovation, and strengthening food security," he said.

In a panel held at the end of the evening, participants included Eisenkot, Moshe Davidovich (chairman of the Confrontation Line Forum and head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council), Amit Yifrach (Secretary-General of the Moshav movement), and Sarah Evron (CEO of the Religious Kibbutz movement). The participants discussed the future of agriculture and rural areas, answered questions from the audience, and emphasized the importance of providing broad support to farmers as part of strengthening security and national resilience.